Emollient Therapy for Premature Infants in Zimbabwe

Inclusion Criteria:

   - infants <72 hours of age

   - weigh 700-1500 at birth

   - hospitalized at SMCH

Exclusion Criteria:

   - infants who are moribund and highly likely not to survive despite any intervention

   - significant breaches in their skin barrier

   - conditions indicating failure to gain weight

   - critically ill (definition below):

      1. Oxygen saturation <88% on oxygen therapy AND ≥2 of the following conditions:

      2. respiratory rate <20 or >100 breaths per minute

      3. apnea requiring bag-mask ventilation

      4. heart rate <100 or >200 beats per minute

   - congenital syphilis

   - hydrops fetalis

   - a life-threatening congenital anomaly or major surgical condition requiring
   intervention

   - generalized skin disease or a structural defect involving >5% body surface area likely
   to produce a defect in epidermal barrier function